Chevron shuts down Israeli gas field, Europe bears the brunt as natural gas prices soar by 20%.
Chevron Corporation has shut down production at a natural gas field in Israel, which could potentially lead to a decrease in supply in the Eastern Mediterranean region. As a result, European benchmark natural gas contracts surged by nearly 20%, marking the largest increase in seven weeks. Is inflation becoming a concern again?
On Monday, as winter approaches, energy prices in Europe have once again surged. This time, it is not the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has caused the spike in natural gas prices, but the Israel-Palestine conflict. The sharp increase in important energy prices has added uncertainty to inflation.
At the request of the Israeli government, Chevron has shut down production at a natural gas field in Israel, which could lead to a reduction in supply in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Following the attacks launched by Hamas over the weekend, the Israeli government cited security concerns and requested Chevron to halt production at the Tamar offshore gas platform.
Chevron stated that the company is still supplying gas from the Leviathan field to Israel and the region. In an email statement, the company said, "Our top priority is the safety of our employees, the communities where we operate, the environment, and our facilities."
Tamar is located in Israel's exclusive economic zone, about 50 miles west of Haifa. It produces approximately 7.1 to 8.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. When discovered in 2009, Tamar was the largest natural gas discovery in the Levant Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean, making it an important target for Hamas.
Analysts say that Egypt plans to resume liquefied natural gas exports before the arrival of winter in Europe this month. The closure of Tamar could result in reduced or delayed shipments.
On Monday, October 9th, investors were concerned about the impact of the Israel-Palestine conflict on Israel's important natural gas fields. Due to supply concerns, natural gas prices in Europe surged, and US natural gas prices followed suit:
- In the European market, ICE UK natural gas futures rose by 14.74% to 108.420 pence per therm, reaching as high as 111.800 pence. It has risen by approximately 19.90% in the past two trading days.
- TTF benchmark Dutch natural gas futures rose by 19.02%, marking the largest increase in at least seven weeks, to 43.620 euros per megawatt-hour, reaching as high as 44.300 euros. It has risen by approximately 20.20% in the past two days.
- German November electricity prices rose by 9.2% to 106.45 euros per megawatt-hour, following the increase in natural gas prices.
- ICE EU carbon emission allowances (futures prices) rose by 1.45% to 81.63 euros per tonne.
- US natural gas futures prices reached the highest level since January. The closing price on Monday at the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) was $3.376 per million British thermal units.
Financial blog Zerohedge commented that the last thing the world needs is another natural gas pipeline being destroyed before the arrival of winter in the northern hemisphere.
